Former New York Rangers center Scott Gomez was one of five people elected to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2025 .
Gomez will be inducted on Dec. 10 in St. Paul, Minnesota , along with two of his former teammates, Joe Pavelski ( San Jose Sharks ) and Zach Parise ( New Jersey Devils ). They are joined by Tara Mounsey, a gold medalist from the U.S. national women's team at the 1988 Nagano Olympics, and longtime NHL photographer Bruce Bennett.
A thorn in the Rangers side for the first seven seasons of his NHL career with the New Jersey Devils, Gomez signed a seven-year, $51.5 million contract with New York on July 1, 2007. Unfortunately, Gomez never quite lived up to that contract nor the hype surrounding his signing.
Gomez did record 70 points (16 goals, 54 assists) for the Rangers in 2007-08. Plus he helped them knock the Devils out in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs that spring. The following season, Gomez was an alternate captain, but tailed off with 58 points (16 goals, 42 assists) in 77 games.
Simply, the Rangers expected more from Gomez. He won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 1999-2000 and recorded five seasons with at least 60 points for New Jersey. A solid two-way center, Gomez helped the Devils win the Stanley Cup in 2000 and 2003.
He totaled 756 points (181 goals, 575 assists) in 1,079 regular-season NHL games with the Devils, Rangers, Montreal Canadiens , Sharks, Florida Panthers , St. Louis Blues and Ottawa Senators .
Gomez was a big-game player, who recorded 101 points (29 goals, 72 assists) in 149 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
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James Lang-Imagn Images
Ironically, Gomez's tenure with the Rangers is remembered most for two things that took place in the summer, not in-season. The first was in the summer of 2007, when he lost a puck flip to decide whether he or Chris Drury would get uniform No. 23. Each wore that number in the NHL previously, before they both signed with the Rangers during the same offseason.
Drury. now the Rangers general manager and also a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, kept No. 23. Gomez wore No. 19 with the Rangers.
The other took place on June 30, 2009, when Gomez was at the center of one of the best trades in Rangers history. They moved him and two prospects to the Canadiens for defenseman prospect Ryan McDonagh and three other players, including Long Island native Chris Higgins .
McDonagh went on to become one of the better defensemen in the NHL and Rangers captain. He's currently on his second tour of duty with the Tampa Bay Lightning , and won the Stanley Cup twice with them in 2020 and 2021.
Two former Rangers forwards — Matt Cullen and Kevin Stevens — were elected to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame last year. Other notable former Rangers enshrined in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame are 1994 Stanley Cup champions Brian Leetch, Mike Richter and Eddie Olczyk.
Gomez, a former NHL assistant with the Islanders , is set to begin his first season as coach with the Chicago Steel in the USHL.
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